US drone strike kills 13 al-Shabab fighters in Somalia

A U.S. drone strike in Somalia on Sunday killed 13 members of the terrorist group al-Shabab, the military reported.

U.S. Africa Command acknowledged the strike, noting that an initial assessment of the situation found that no civilians had been injured or killed.

“In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab terrorists that were actively attacking Somali National Army forces in a remote location near Teedaan, Somalia, Aug. 14.,” U.S. African Command Public Affairs said in a statement.

The statement noted that American forces have authorization “to conduct strikes in defense of designated partner forces.”

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U.S. Africa Command said that they and Somalia’s federal government “take great measures to prevent civilian casualties,” and that they “remain committed” to opposing al-Shabab, which they said carries out “indiscriminate attacks” against civilians.

“Violent extremist organizations like al-Shabaab present long-term threats to Somali, regional and U.S. interests,”  the statement said.

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The strike comes months after President Biden approved sending hundreds of Special Operations troops to Somalia in May. 

That month a New York Times report citing intelligence officials said al-Shabab, which is linked to al Qaeda, was estimated to have up to 10,000 fighters.

In July, a U.S. airstrike killed two al-Shabab terrorists in response to an attack carried out against U.S. partner forces in Somalia.

Fox News’ Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.